In March 2015 the Justice & Diversity Center (JDC) of The Bar Association of San Francisco and the University of San Francisco (USF) School of Law launched the Open Doors 1L Job Shadow Program.

The program is a partnership between the two organizations and the brain child of McDermott Will & Emery partner A. Marisa Chun. Through the combined efforts of Chun and Johanna Hartwig, Assistant Dean of Career Planning & Legal Community Engagement, the vision for the Open Doors 1L Job Shadow Program came to life.

The program aims to open doors of opportunity for diverse law students by jump starting their professional development through early, day-to-day immersion in dynamic legal organizations. It is designed for students who have limited exposure to professional legal settings. Last Spring, 17 employers from the private, public, corporate and nonprofit sectors welcomed twenty first-year USF law students.

Due to the outstanding success of the program, it has been expanded to include UC Hastings College of the Law and Golden Gate University School of Law in 2016. As a result, the number of first-year participants will increase from 17 to 45.

Seeking legal employers to host a 1L student from USF School of Law, UC Hastings College of Law or Golden Gate University School of Law March 7 -9, 2016!

The Bar Association of San Francisco, the University of San Francisco School of Law, UC Hastings, and Golden Gate University School of Law believe that early exposure to practitioners and professional environments is essential to launching students’ career advancement. The 1L Job Shadow Program seeks to facilitate that key step. 2016 will be the program’s second year, and up to 45 1Ls from the three law schools will participate.  The program will take place March 7-9, 2016.

If you would like to serve as an employer host or if you would like more information please contact Elizabeth McGriff at emcgriff@sfbar.org.